Freepoint Commodities Invests in US Offshore Oil and Gas Production

NEW YORK, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Freepoint Commodities LLC said on Monday that, together with two other partners, it bought two offshore oil and gas producing blocks from an Exxon Mobil Corp affiliate and W&T Offshore Inc for $110 million.

Through the financing of a company called Whistler Energy II, LLC, it bought Green Canyon Block 60 and 18, around 150 miles (241 km) offshore Louisiana. Production at Block 18, which came with a platform, peaked at 30,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Freepoint has the right to serve as the physical offtaker of existing and future oil production.

In March, Freepoint acquired 66 natural gas producing wells from a unit of Canadian exploration and production company Bucking Horse Energy Inc while in June it closed a coal prepayment financing and offtake transaction with Covenant Coal Corp.

Stamford, Connecticut-based Freepoint is among a group of energy merchants that have bought physical assets such as wells and power plants as tighter regulations have pushed banks out of the physical commodities business.

Commodity traders have flocked to merchants like Freepoint and Castleton Commodities International, also based in Stamford, and larger traders such as Vitol and Glencore in the last two years.

Freepoint was started by former RBS Sempra Commodities executives with private equity in 2011. Royal Bank of Scotland had to divest its portion of the joint venture with Sempra after a British government bailout.

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